Milk can rack



1959 s. J. CREIGHTON 2,916,157

MILK CAN RACK Filed April 11, 1955 INVENTOR. STANLEY J.Cw.s|emtm M/KW ATTORNEY United States Patent M i z: MILK CAN RACK Stanley J. Creighton, Elmira, NY.

Application April 11, 1955, Serial No. 500,329

3 Claims. (Cl. 211-75) This invention relates to a rack and has for its primary object to hold bulk milk containers in a delivery truck in orderly fashion.

Another object is to render accessible to the truck driver or other attendant any selected container and to avoid the handling of other containers while selecting a particular container for delivery.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features tiers of vertically spaced supporting shelves mounted within a panel truck body adjacent opposite side panels thereof and extending horizontally outwardly therefrom, and a longitudinal row of collars or bands carried by each shelf and extending upwardly therefrom to define therewith sockets or pockets for receiving the bottom ends of milk containers and holding said containers in orderly array within the truck body.

Other features include legs carried by the tiers of shelves and extending downwardly therefrom for engaging the bed of the truck body and stabilizing the tiers of shelves within said truck body, and means carried by the tiers of shelves and extending longitudinally of each tier in vertically spaced relation for attachment to opposite side panels of the truck body.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through a panel delivery truck equipped with this improved rack,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken if substantially on the line 22 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail a conventional panel truck designated generally of the type commonly employed for milk delivery is provided with a conventional bed 12 from opposite side edges of which rise panels 14 joined at their upper ends by a roof 16. The structure so far described forms no part of this invention except in combination therewith.

The invention comprises vertically spaced bed frames 18 and 18 each comprising spaced parallel angle irons defining side rails 20 and 20' having horizontal flanges 22 and 22' adjacent their lower edges which extend toward one another to define ledges of shelf frames upon which a plate is supported to define a lower shelf 24. Carried by the side rails 20 and 20 and extending transversely thereof beneath the flanges 22 and 22' are longitudinally spaced parallel cross members 26.

Secured to and extending upwardly from the plates defining the shelves 24 and 24' are longitudinal rows of collars or bands 32 which define with the plates or shelves 24 or 24' rows of sockets or pockets for the reception of the bottom ends of milk containers as suggested by the broken lines in Figure 3. Carried by the side rail 20 of each frame 18 and 18' is a channel bar 34 carrying an 2,916,157 atented Dec. 8, 1 5

2 attaching flange 36 and welded or otherwise secured to the attaching flanges 36 and supporting the bars 20 of the frames-18 and 18 in vertically spaced relation are vertically extending straps '38 the upper ends 40of which extend upwardly beyond the-uppermost flanges 36 and are pierced to receive fasteners 42 which extend into horizontally extending reinforcing rails 44 carried by the adjacent truck panel ;14. Columns 46 are connected to and extend vertically between the side rails 20' of the vertically spaced frames 18 and 18' to cooperate with the straps 38 in holding said frames in spaced parallel relation. The straps 38 are pierced intermediate their ends to receive fasteners 48 which enter horizontal reinforcing rails 50 carried by an adjacent truck panel 14 intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof.

Legs '28 and 28' are carried by the bottom bed frame 18 and extend downwardly therefrom for engaging the truck bed 12 to support the frame 18 in vertically spaced relation to the truck bed. Tie rails 30 and 30 are secured to the legs 28 and 28' and extend longitudinally therebetween adjacent the lower ends thereof.

In use with the racks mounted within the truck body as above described and illustrated in the drawings milk containers may be loaded in the truck in orderly fashion and in such a manner as to render accessible any selected can for delivery at a selected station. One or more of the cans may be lifted from selected sockets and delivered with but a minimum of effort on the part of the user and no general rearranging of the cans is required in order to obtain access to a selected can. Hence much efiort is saved in making bulk milk deliveries.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A space saving sanitary two tier milk can rack adaptable for mounting against a wall panel and provid ing access to selected individual cans without disturbing the others, comprising a frame comprising a pair of superposed shelves, each consisting of a pair of side angle bars having their horizontal flanges at their lower edges turned inwardly to form ledges, a shelf plate supported on said ledges, and longitudinally spaced cross bars under said flanges to hold each of said side bars rigidly together, corner legs fixed to said lower shelf frame to hold it spaced off the floor, vertical support columns at the front corners and at spaced intervals therebetween, connecting the upper and lower shelf side bars along the front of said frame, the upper shelf spaced above the lower one just enough to clear the tops of cans placed on the lower one, channel space bars fixed to the rear shelf side bars, vertical straps fixed to the rear of said channel bars at the corners and at spaced intervals along the rear of said channel bars, said straps being adapted for connection to said wall panel, said shelf plates being substantially the width of one can, and means on each shelf for receiving and holding the bottoms of a plurality of cans in closely spaced alignment individually thereon, for easy removal or replacement of any individual can on either shelf without disturbing the others.

2. A milk can rack as defined in claim 1, said receiving and holding means being circular pockets having a diameter slightly larger than the bottoms of said cans.

3. A milk can rack as defined in claim 2, said circular pockets being formed by upstanding bands fixed to the shelves.

(References on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 Reddimg July 7, 1891 Pric -2 Fb.f4, 1902 5 Williams May 13, 1902 DeVoy July 23, 1907 McFadden Nov. 21, 1911 4 Sternauet a1. May 13, 1917 Martin May 24, 1921 Greene Nov. 13, 1923 Botham Sept. 25, 1934 Branstetter et a1 Sept. 12, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Netherlafids June 16, 1933 

